


thieves in the palace (break in to break out)

by grassjelly



Category: Persona 5, 琅琊榜 | Nirvana in Fire (TV)
Genre: Art, Fanvids, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-15
Updated: 2018-12-15
Packaged: 2019-09-17 13:47:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 485
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16975728
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/grassjelly/pseuds/grassjelly
Summary: Well, everybody wears a mask deep within their heart.





	1. the phantom thieves of hearts

**Author's Note:**

  * For [swanfrost](https://archiveofourown.org/users/swanfrost/gifts).



> This work is also viewable in [carrd](https://thievesinthepalace.carrd.co/) where it doesn't have 1780217340 notes and tangents.
> 
> Prompt: "persona 5 au, ~~feel free to follow the plot of p5 or to~~ use the setting/lore as inspiration! ~~notes: bonus points for character study-esque writing and using the mcs/linshu naming conventions cleverly; happy ending please"~~  
>     
> I couldn't write the fic or incorporate the plot (sorry!), so I just went with Nirvana in Fire with Persona 5 aesthetics. It's not quite what you asked for but I hope it helps visualize the hypothetical AU? Wishing you a good 2019!
> 
> SHORT EXPLANATION OF PERSONA 5:  
> It's kind of like an edgy YA version of Inception if the goal of Inception was social justice and change.
> 
> LONG EXPLANATION OF PERSONA 5:  
> Persona 5 is about a group of teenagers (the Phantom Thieves) who reform society by compelling criminals to turn themselves in to the police. The objective is to "change people's hearts" by entering the target's psyche (their **Palace** ), defeating the target's **Shadow self** and stealing their **Treasure**. The **Shadow self** is the embodiment of a person's suppressed thoughts and distorted desires. The **Treasure** is a physical object that represents the source of that distorted desire. For example, an abusive gym teacher's Treasure can be an old trophy from his glory days, and a plagiarizing artist's Treasure can be the first painting they ever wanted to claim as their own.
> 
> Once their Treasure has been stolen, the target is overcome with guilt, which moves them to confess and atone for their crimes.
> 
> Each Phantom Thief has the ability to summon a **Persona** —the Pokemon of the soul—to fight against the defenses that the target's mind arms itself with. Personae are only able to take form in the cognitive world where reality is shaped by thoughts and perceptions. In the real world, the Phantom Thieves are just a group of powerless kids.
> 
> "Persona" also means "mask" in Latin, so the game/anime just runs with that imagery.
> 
> If you're curious about the aesthetic of this canon and what the characters and their Personae look like, you can check out these fanvids: [Emperor's New Clothes](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gl42MFFI49U), [Hit & Run](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-X-isz2FeYo), [The Phoenix](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ddrf2pvkLw4) (contains: blood, major spoilers)

  


LYRICS: (click to skip)  
Who am I?  
Am I not unique?*  
Maybe I'm not here  
At all

Look, the fakers  
Blinding us with lies  
The breakers of us all 

Oh, it's useless  
What could it mean that we're here?  
Can we make a difference?  
If we don't break out of here? 

Wake up, get up, get out there  
Raise your voice against liars  
Feed your anger like fire  
Why does nobody want change? 

Just imagine you're out there  
Swatting lies in the makin'  
Can't move fast without breakin'  
If you hold on life won't change 

  


#  Phantom Thieves

  


  


**Notes (everyone except swanfrost, please ignore!!!!):**  


  * LIN SHU/MEI CHANGSU/SU ZHE (CROW, LEADER): I didn't know how to draw the crow mask but wanted to keep the designation because I think MCS is more Crow than Joker. Hahaha. /o\ My personal headcanon is that MCS is a wild card with 2 Personae: [Hou Yi](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hou_Yi) and Sun Wukong/Monkey King, whose elemental affinities are fire and darkness respectively. I also headcanon that "Mei Changsu" is the name that Lin Shu gives his Shadow, the embodiment of his own self-loathing and survivor's guilt... Once justice for the Chiyan souls has been served, he succumbs to the self-loathing and the Phantom Thieves have to change his heart. More headcanons: his Palace is some sort of tomb/graveyard (like Futaba's). His Treasure could be his bow, maybe?  

  * FEI LIU (NOIR): loves flowers, tries to grow a garden in his spare time. His firearm of choice is a bazooka. He can be the Phantom Thief who is sometimes an Actual Thief. (MCS makes the lockpicks because he's an enabler—regularly sends Fei Liu off to break into Lin Chen's clinic. XD)  

  * GONG YU (PANTHER): Patron saint of all harassed women, men, and children everywhere.
  * MU NIHUANG (QUEEN): obviously the Makoto Niijima in this group. Mu Qing is probably the one who picks her code name. I imagine her Persona is similar to [Penthesilea](https://megamitensei.fandom.com/wiki/Penthesilea) (iron mask, rapier, and dagger), which then evolves into [Artemisia](https://megamitensei.fandom.com/wiki/Artemisia) (armor, dress, and whip).  

  * XIAO JINGRUI (FOX): is a 狐狸精/fox spirit~  

  * YAN YUJIN (ORACLE): He has the navigation Persona and the goggles, which means he has excellent night vision in the Metaverse. :D

* * *

**Footnotes:**  
* Incidentally the "Shu" in "Lin Shu" also means "exceptional/unique". [return]




**Notes for the Chapter:**

>   * SONG: "Wake Up, Get Up, Get Out There" (Persona 5 opening theme). You can view the original video [here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0jm8nnHqx80). 
>   * [Earwig Factory [font]](https://www.dafont.com/earwig-factory.font): FREE for personal and commercial use! \o/
>   * I used [this tutorial](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MByy5CIG8u8) for the card effect.
> 



	2. the major arcana

# 琅琊榜 Characters as the Major Arcana

  
  
  
  


O. FOOL: Lin Shu  
---  
I. MAGICIAN: Fei Liu  
II. HIGH PRIESTESS: Consort Jing  
III. EMPRESS: Mu Nihuang  
IV. EMPEROR: Prince Jing  
V. HIEROPHANT: Eunuch Gao  
VI. LOVERS: Gong Yu  
VII. CHARIOT: Meng Zhi  
VIII. JUSTICE: Mei Changsu  
IX. HERMIT: Yan Que  
X. WHEEL OF FORTUNE: Crown Prince  
XI. STRENGTH: Liyang  
XII. HANGED MAN: Prince Qi (haha)  
XIII. DEATH: Lin Chen  
XIV: TEMPERANCE: Qin Banruo  
XV: DEVIL: Xia Jiang  
XVI. TOWER: Prince Yu  
XVII. STAR: Yan Yujin  
XVIII. MOON: Emperor of Liang  
XIX. SUN: Xiao Jingrui  
XX. JUDGEMENT: Xia Dong  
XXI. WORLD: Changlin Army???  
  
**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Inspired by the Persona 5 [tarot](https://www.reddit.com/r/Persona5/comments/6g0805/made_a_little_graphic_showing_the_sinful/) and [Confidant Arcana](https://rankedboost.com/persona-5/confidant/). In Persona, key characters (your Confidants) are represented by the major arcana. Strengthening your Confidant relationships will give you gameplay boosts.
> 
> I only really meant to do the arcana for the Phantom Thieves "deck", with bonus Lin Chen and Xia Dong (see below), but it felt weird to stop so I just.... kept....... going................
> 
> Lin Chen's DEATH arcana counterpart in Persona 5 is Tae Takemi, the flirty back-alley doctor who's been trying to perfect a drug, a.k.a. the fem!LC aesthetic of my dreams. She also sells you the good curatives in exchange for your participation in her drug trials. Here's a [1-minute introduction of her character](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oiqD_vFSI9I). Her theme song is called "Butterfly Kiss".  
> 
> 
>  
> 
> Xia Dong's JUDGEMENT arcana counterpart is Sae Niijima, the hot hotshot public prosecutor who tries to take the Phantom Thieves down.  
>  
> 
> * * *
> 
> Special thanks to the [NIF REFERENCE album](https://www.flickr.com/photos/155102905@N03/sets/72157691486810415/) (I can't find the AO3 link anymore, why) for being a one-stop shop for quality screencaps to trace. \o/


End file.
